Day 267
Friday
22 September 2017- copleted the novel "The Sisters" by Claire Douglas. I wasn't overly impressed with this one, I found it too repetitive grammatically and the story line not particularly believable.
Armidale – Wauchope – Port Macquarie
For a day where we were moving on, we were quite slow going.
We read until 8.30am, then proceeded to dilly dally through the morning before
finally being ready to head on at 10.
After passing through Armidale, we realised there were a
number of really interesting old buildings that in their day had some serious
money behind them. It was a shame we hadn’t spent time exploring a little more
on foot.
We followed the road through Uralla once again and then it
was on to the Oxley Highway through the rolling hills of very dry cattle
pastures. The road was easy to navigate and in quite good condition compared to
recent experience on NSW roads.
At one point we passed a cattle on road sign and for a
change there actually was young cows being herded down the highway. We had to
slow the vehicle right down as they stared us down then reluctantly moved off
to the side.
By 11.30am we had reached the mountains once again and the
ride got interesting. The vegetation was thick with eucalypts and ferns that
left the road in shadow. We wound our way through it slowly with the van
complaining that the brakes were getting hot with all the extra pressure on the
downhill.
It took us an hour and half to complete the last 80km with
top speeds in corners signposted as 25, 35 or 45km. You could determine how
severe the turn would be based on the posting.
At 1pm, we finally arrived in Wauchope a small timber town
about 25min inland from Port Macquarie. We located the showgrounds and pulled
in, rang the caretaker and then were told there was nothing available until Oct
4th! Bugger. However, we had spotted a small camp at the Timbertown
attraction further up the street, so we returned there and with plenty of room,
we were able to park up for the next few nights. At $20 a night it was a
bargain.
We unhooked the car, which turned out to be a drama again
and I had to drive it off the trailer as Paul untangled the straps, almost
ending in disaster as I attempted to drive it off the ramp at an odd angle,
thankfully the car didn’t fall too far.
I then set up inside and we settled down to a needed lunch
and a break. I did some net surfing to find out about local breweries. Paul
rang one and organised a meeting for tomorrow and then we went off in search of
the others. Our first one was Moore Brewing Co. tucked away in an industrial
area. The place has only been open 8 weeks and looked quite shiny and new. We
had a good chat to the owners and brewers as Paul tried the beers. They also
informed us there was a beer and cider event happening in town tomorrow, so I
guess I know what we will be doing.
Following Moore Brewing, we navigated to the other side of
the industrial area to Black Duck Brewing, another industrial shed turned into
a tap room that had a good crowd wandering in. They also had a very large dog
on security patrol. I think I could have ridden the Great Dane it if I had
wanted to. Instead it wanted a scratch and tried to sit down on a stool next to
me.
Paul chatted with Al the owner/brewer and wandered around
the old style brewery before finishing the two tasting paddles.
It was 4pm when we left and I still wanted to get in to Port
Macquarie and have a look around, so I drove us into the centre and parked
where we could walk the main mall to the water. The buildings lining the street
were art deco in design and it had an older feel to it, but in a good way.
We stood out on a small jetty watching people and birds fish,
as the long rolls of small waves rippled towards the beach. A statue of Edmund
Barton, Australia’s first PM sat prominently in the square and was a prime
target to be sunglass bombed by Paul.
Port Macquarie is obviously another popular holiday
destination, with plenty of hotels along the main strips. Being the start of
the school holidays, it is the main reason we chose to stay in Wauchope and
commute in, knowing caravan parks would be busy and quite probably expensive.
We walked down Clarence Street, finding “The Duck Bar”, the
in the city hotel version of the brewery we had just visited. Here Paul was
able to try a few extra beers and I could enjoy a glass of champagne while we
listened to the live music. In the end we opted to eat as well, knowing neither
of us was in the mood for cooking.
The place became very busy as the workers emptied from
offices and the tourists came looking for a meal. We finished up our food and
drinks and then returned to the car, hoping we didn’t have a parking ticket as
we had stayed 2 hours in a one hour bay. There was nothing on the windscreen,
though the board said electronically monitored, so I guess we will see if
something turns up in the post.
It was now dark and I had to drive us home on busy,
unfamiliar roads and surprisingly much of it was without streetlight. I did it
though, glad no unseen animals attempted to make a dash across the bonnet.
It was only 7pm when we got in, but we were both feeling
exhausted so we opted to crawl in to bed and read. Brad rang, so I had a short
conversation with him as he prepared to take the family to Exmouth for the
holidays and escape the crappy Perth weather.
By 8.30pm, we were struggling to keep the eyes open and we
turned out the lights.
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